Sleep deprived

So I am one of the many, the compelled-to-be-humbled, the early morning custodial worker. Each day I rise up uncharacteristically early to be at work at 5:00 in the morning where I don blue gloves and spend out hours of each work day employed in menial, mind-numbing tasks such as scrubbing stair railings with a toothbrush. And that is okay. I remember before my mission that I decided I would sacrifice the good life I then enjoyed, and accepted that it would be worth it even if I were to come back and have the worst living conditions, roommates and/or job, among other things. I'm a believer that the menial can be meaningful when done with an eye single to the glory of God. So, I try to put my focus on how this menial job is the means to financing my India experience, my present living expenses, and it is helping me to save up for Winter semester, all of which will help me to learn and grow and become a more ready and in tune instrument in the Lord's hands throughout my life.

So anyway, I get up at approximately 4:15 each morning. Okay, let's be honest: My phone's alarm clock vibrates on my desk at exactly 4:15 every morning. I grab the phone. I press the snooze button. I pull my phone under my covers and resume resting in a fetal position. Fifteen minutes has passed and the phone vibrates again. I push the button again. I am awake enough to anticipate and dread the next and final vibration of the series, knowing that it heralds the latest possible time I can get up, get dressed and eat breakfast without ending up late for work. So technically, I get up at 4:30 every morning.

So 4:30am is pretty early. And my body seems to demand close to 8 hours of sleep each night in order to feel rested. I do not often meet that demand, seeing as how it would require me to go to bed at about 8:15 at night. Essentially, I only meet that demand on occasional weekends. I typically average closer to 6 hours a night, if I'm lucky.

My body sometimes rebels. Take yesterday, for instance. Yesterday I'd intended to nap. I knew that I ought to. I set a goal a few weeks ago to nap whenever I get to bed after 9:30, and I'd stuck to it. But on Wednesday night I was up until past midnight. Meaning I got less than 4 hours of sleep. I should have taken a nap. I just knew that if I feel asleep, I wasn't likely to get back up anytime soon. So, rather than napping, I was figuring to go to bed relatively early (meaning around 9:00), and so at 6:30 I started doing such things as writing in my journal, and studying my scriptures. Let's just say that at 9:36pm I woke up to find myself asleep, fully-dressed, in the dark, next to my journal, notebook, pen, a copy of the Book of Mormon, my small blue quad, and a copy of El Libro de Mormon. Did I mention that I love the scriptures?

So yeah, at that point I moved my goods, got under the cover and sleep for several more hours. I have unintentionally fallen asleep at 6:00 once before, I've fallen asleep during social gatherings and waking up the next morning finding myself on the couch twice, and once (personal favorite) I even fell asleep draped across my bed, having fallen asleep while making the bed and tucking the covers in against the wall. Yup. I need to get more sleep. That's all.